It was founded in 1891 by four men, one of whom was Joaquim Nabuco, abolitionist leader and later ambassador to Washington, D.C. Established as an independent paper, the Jornal has managed over the years to maintain a high quality of reporting and a degree of news independence despite sporadic government censorship and control. Its content and style are directed at an educated and elite readership. The Jornal has a large editorial staff, with bureaus and correspondents in many world capitals.